Deal for alleged killer hits a snag

Thomas Haggie (center), who is accused in the murder of a 21-year-old pregnant woman in Bradford last year, grins as he is led into the McKean County Courthouse for a hearing Thursday afternoon. He is escorted by county Sheriff's Department Deputies Larry Benson (left) and Patrick Warnick (right). Photo by Ted Lutz.

SMETHPORT – The alleged killer of a 21-year-old pregnant woman in Bradford in 2009 was ready Thursday to finalize a plea agreement that most likely would send him to state prison for life.
But the deal hit a sudden snag at a hearing in the McKean County Courthouse in Smethport, when defendant Thomas Paul Haggie claimed he failed to take medication that is prescribed for his mental issues.
County President Judge John Pavlock said he is "concerned" that Haggie "may not understand what's going on" because the defendant allegedly skipped the daily pills prescribed by a Bradford psychiatrist.
"I am not going forward today," Pavlock said. "This is too serious of a case."
"It's literally your life," he told Haggie.
Another hearing was set for next Thursday at 3 p.m. to give Haggie one more chance to complete an agreement that would preclude a trial set to begin Jan. 10 in county court.
Details of the agreement are not public at this time because the proposed deal has not being filed with the prothonotary's office. However, the agreement reportedly will call for Haggie to be sentenced to two life terms in state prison for the murder of eight-months-pregnant Megan Konopka in his hotel room in Bradford.
That is the same sentence already given to Greggory Theobald, a co-defendant who accepted a plea agreement in lieu of a trial.
McKean County District Attorney Ray Learn has said he is seeking the death penalty should the case go to trial.
For more on this story, see the Dec. 11 of The Daily Press.